Washington Post reporter Karen Tumulty's intriguing story today about the coining of a term and its political impact got us to wondering just how far the term "Obama phone" had embedded itself into the political culture. We've written before about how compounds of President Barack Obama's name have become politically charged.
We took a look via Capitol Words, Sunlight's tool that scans the Congressional Record and allows users to analyze speech patterns.
So far, no recorded mentions of "Obamaphone" or "Obama phone" on the floor of the House or Senate.
However, we did find a number ...
Continue readingSince Newtown, full employment for gun lobbyists
Since the Dec. 14 shooting that left 26 people dead at a Connecticut elementary school, at least 22 lobbyists have registered to influence Congress on gun-related issues, and several have been holding fundraisers for Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who is a potential swing vote in the legislative battle on Capitol Hill.
Continue readingConyers deletes Rand Paul shoutout
(Updated 12:15 p.m. 3/11)
When Sen. Rand Paul tied the Senate up in knots for a day last week to make a point about the Obama administration's controversial use of drones to assassinate enemies of the U.S., the libertarian Kentucky Republican was hitting on one of those rare issues that unites activists on the political left and right.
Evidence came when veteran Rep. John Conyers, who ranks as one of the most liberal Democrats in the House, tweeted out a "you go" about the Paul filibuster. The 83-year-old Detroit lawmaker was sufficiently hip to use ...
Continue readingWord Cloud of Senator Rand Paul’s Filibuster
The Sunlight Foundation's Capitol Words project has finished processing Senator Rand Paul's filibuster of John Brennan's nomination to head the C.I.A. from the Congressional Record.
Continue readingWhat big donors would like to hear in the State of the Union
Though we can't predict the rhetorical tropes--not the thematic structure or the memorable lines or phrases that will fall flat--a look at the world of influence might tell us some of the issues President Barack Obama will touch on in his fourth State of the Union address. If a part of politics is rewarding your friends while giving your opponents good government, then the 2012 contest--which featured history's first billion-dollar presidential campaign (Obama's), first billion-dollar-plus outside spending campaign, plus oodles of special interest cash flowing to congressional candidates--leaves a lot of ground to cover.
Sunlight combed through ...
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